Open Conflictive

[Ilija Olaf]

Ilija had been indecisive about whether to attend the valentines dance at all this year. While he was trying to push himself and his limits to expand his comfort zones, this event wasn’t going to be an easy one for the Hufflepuff. He’d enjoyed giving out the roses, however he’d also come to realise the reality of his own situation. After overhearing in the common room that Alice had received a pink rose from a boy called Blake, and having not recieved one himself from her at all, it was quite clear to Ilija now where he stood with her. Perhaps it was better this way. Maybe she was going to be good for him, and the best thing he could do was push her out of mind once and for all. To add to his conflicts however, he’d been surprised to receive a pink rose of his own from his friend. He hadn’t yet had a chance to talk to Padme about what she meant by “liking him” and to be honest he wasn’t sure how to react to her just yet.​

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The fourth year entered the Great Hall, always amazed at the level of detail that was put into the school events, and hesitantly made his way through the crowd. Plenty of students had come in by themselves, so not having a partner specifically wasn’t an issue for him. What did catch him off guard however, was his eyes landing on Alice. She always looked so beautiful, and even more so when she came to one of the dances. He let his eyes follow her for a few seconds, before his stomach dropped at the addition of the boy beside her. He turned his head away quickly. They barely even knew each other, but Alice and Blake had already seemed to be a thing. Feeling suddenly uncomfortable and exposed, Ilija pushed his way back the way he came, towards the main doors of the hall. Coming here was a mistake. He wasn’t usually a sufferer of claustrophobia, but not daring to even glance back over his shoulder, the boy knew he had to get out.​

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* Overhearing and catching sight approved​

 

[Padme Hume]

Padme had been nervous about sending a pink rose to Ilija, but she felt like being straight forward about how she felt towards him. She hadn’t had anything back and she was a little nervous about that, or about the fact he hadn’t yet reached out to her at all. But perhaps he just didn’t know what to say. Padme didn’t have a date for the ball and was just hoping to have a little bit of fun. She had worn a nice dress in her choice, she hadn’t tried to wear anything too outrageous, but she was happy. As she came to the entrance of the hall she felt a little nervous about it. It was just all of a sudden, when someone passed her, and she looked towards them and spotted that it was Ilija. She was a little confused, he didn’t look too happy, something seemed to be wrong. ”Ilija?” she questioned approaching him slowly, he didn’t look too happy and she didn’t want to startle him or do anything. The hufflepuff approached him slowly, ”Are you okay?” she said, she wanted to have a good time but she also wanted to be sure that he was okay. She liked him, so of course she wanted him to be okay.​

 

[Ilija Olaf]

In his attempt to avoid Alice, of course he had to run into the other girl in the school that he found things tense between right now. Not that she seemed to know that though, as he spotted Padme coming over to ask if he was alright. The room continued to warm up his insides, and it felt like he could burst into flames in a second if he didn't get out soon. "Hey, um, yeah," he swallowed, trying to calm himself down, "I just need air," it wasn't exactly a lie, his cheeks were flushed too but in the darkness of the halls it was hard to tell. It felt rude to just turn and leave Padme here by herself, but Ilija couldn't just stay in the Great Hall as he was. He would have mentioned he'd come back to see her in a moment, but he couldn't promise he would be back if the other couple were in here now, and he wasn't about to spoil the Hufflepuffs evening too. "It's too hot in here," he got the words out quickly, and as embarrassed as he suddenly felt, he couldn't stop himself turning to head back outside. Part of him hoped Padme would stay and enjoy her night at the party, it was meant to be fun after all, and besides, he didn't know quite what to tell her about the roses just yet. Students continued to enter the event from the Entrance Hall, so the fourth year kept walking, until he was outside in the Courtyard. From here he could just about hear the commotion inside, but loosening off the top of his shirt, he was thankful for the cool air hitting his face as he tried to calm down.​

 

[Padme Hume]

Padme was a little surprised by his reaction, it seemed odd to her. He didn’t seem that alright, he seemed to act the same way her brother did occasionally, after nightmares or just when she saw him sometimes. When she asked about his sleep or about his girlfriend who ever she currently was. Padme frowned a little, she just nodded. She wondered what might’ve set him off or if he had the magical equivalent of the common cold. She glanced towards the great hall and nodded lightly, it could be quite warm, that much she could agree with but she didn’t exactly what to walk away from the celebration when she tended to have a lot fun at it. She liked ilija but without some clear indication about how she felt, padme wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do. She watched him walk away from her, and continued out to the courtyard. She felt conflicted but headed into the great hall, if he needed a minute alone then she would give him that. The girl went to the food table and took a little biscuit, still glancing towards the entrance to the hall hoping to just see him come back in. But he didn’t when one minute turned to five and five turned to ten, Padme decided he’d had enough alone time. She went to the drinks table and filled two cups with some water before heading out. He was the only one sitting out at the courtyard currently, so she spotted him somewhat easily. ”I brought you some water,” was all she said, keeping her voice low and trying to be casual while trying to hide as much concern for him, since she was worried it would be too much and she’d scare him off. ​

 

[Ilija Olaf]

It was quiet and cool outside by himself, much too early in the night it seemed for anyone to have gotten themselves into any drama yet. He knew in time couples would come out here to argue or have time to themselves, and Ilija sat himself down on a bench and made the most of being by himself. By the looks of things Padme had taken stayed, and it helped him to relax a bit as he found comfort in the knowledge he wasn’t forced to be social or put on a front that would mean he could talk to others, even if his confidence only lasted for a short amount of time before the introvert needed his own space again. He was sat looking at the sky, thinking of how peaceful this place could be sometimes even when there were so many students on the premises, tears threatening to emerge the longer he sat there considering how far he even had to go before he’d be happy with himself. He knew this setback shouldn’t have been a big deal, there were so many other things to be doing right now that it barely made any sense to worry about it, or so he tried to tell himself.​

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He was aware of someone approaching him before he heard her speak, and he instantly adjusted himself into a more approachable stance, shaking away any glum emotion left on his face. The last thing he wanted was to look like a mess to the one person who seemed to actually want to be his friend. “Hey,” he smiled at Padme as she joined him, “Thank you,” it was a kind gesture of her to come out here at all, let alone bring him a drink too. Maybe he’d been wrong about thinking all she wanted to do was have a fun night inside too. She had after all sent him a pink rose. Remembering it, he swallowed nervously as he tried to think of what to say about it, “Thank you for the rose, too.” It would have been more awkward to dodge around it, like the elephant in the room, and she was owed at least his acknowledgement and gratitude for it. “It was really thoughtful,” he wished that his own had been sent now, and cursed himself once more in his head for not being able to put himself out there.​

 

[Padme Hume]

Padme was pleased with herself as it seemed the little break which Ilija had from the hall, seemed to have helped him a little. He took the drink from her and she sat down next to him taking a little sip of it, she didn’t want to press him, since she knew in sometimes pressing her brother she got the opposite reaction of what she wanted. At the mention of the rose she could feel herself blush lightly. Had he perhaps not understood the meaning behind it. Did he think she only liked him as a friend? She looked at him, let her gaze wonder over his expression trying to find answers in it. ”It’s okay, I’ve always been told to be direct in my feelings,” she said, ”Did really believe it until then,” she looked away from him hoping that the conversation would allow her to figure out where he stood with her, where she stood with him. She didn’t want to be seeking something if all he was looking for was friendship. She liked him, she felt like she was mature enough to deal with rejection, possibly...hopefully. ”Are you feeling a bit better?” she asked. He seemed to have calmed down slightly, less on edge that when she’d first ran into him, but of course she could maybe be misreading it a little. Perhaps he was just lying really well to her. ​

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Even though Ilija had appreciated the time by himself, he was quietly glad that Padme had now joined him. He did his best to relax. He never found it natural not to put up a guard when he was around other people, but he couldn't go on without being himself forever around others, especially ones that kept returning to him as she did. As she was talking about being direct with her feelings, Ilija considered that it was probably his biggest downfall. How could anyone do that? Except, as he peered through the darkness at Padme, he realised she had done exactly that in her rose. Perhaps he wasn't addressing it directly, but he couldn't mistake the meaning behind the flower she'd sent him. The fourth year thought about Alice with her date in the Great Hall. No doubt she was having a good time. Why shouldn't he be having a good time too? He knew he needed to get over Alice, and start actually enjoying his time at Hogwarts rather than always second guessing himself, and here he was outside with one of his best friends. His classmates shouldn't have been the only ones to be happy, and maybe he was missing a chance here. "I think so," he replied, honestly a little better now that he wasn't face to face with a situation that put him on edge, although it was clear that being out in the open had given him a chance to calm down too. Direct with your feelings, he replayed her sentence over again and again in his head. Maybe if he was direct with Padme, he could be happy with her too. She was always a good distraction from other issues around the school, and maybe it was exactly what he needed to get over Alice. Still a little intimidated and inexperienced in this field, he tried to picture what he'd seen and heard others do. "I wanted to send you one too by the way," he said, glancing away in case she looked up to him and he was unable to finish what he had to say, "I'm better at writing things down than speaking them, I suppose I missed my chance." He'd always been a good writer, and it was one of the things that he used as an escape, "I really like you too," It wasn't a lie, he did like her, and he could only hope that he'd grow to like her in the same way she'd meant as well. ​

 

[Padme Hume]

Padme let her words lay there, she searched his face for some indication for how he felt towards her. There wasn’t much she could make out, but she just let him think about it. Perhaps being direct with people wasn’t something everyone was that good at. Perhaps it just didn’t work as a method for everyone, she didn’t want to rush him either. She just wanted, no needed to know how he felt so that she could figure out how she felt. Work through it or be able to just feel it. She shook her head at him when he said he’d wanted to send her a rose, ”It’s okay,” she was quick to assure him, she hadn’t needed a rose from him, she knew that people got busy, she knew how busy older students were, ”I know how busy my brother gets, it can’t be difficult to manage that and send a rose to people,” Padme told him. She could understand why he’d say he was better at writing things down and perhaps he might’ve wrote something back rather than saying it now. But he followed it by saying that he really liked her too. She felt her heart flutter warmly when he said it, almost validating how she’d been feeling, that it wasn’t one sided. Padme smiled a little at him, not sure what happened next, did she reach for his hand, should she agree for them to go out, were they now immediately together? ”Okay,” she replied, trying to not get ahead of herself, ”What does this mean for…..us?” Padme spoke tentatively, ”Do we go out on a date or something? See if we fit and do more of that if so?” she tried to remember how muggles in muggle shows did it. She wanted to rush in but Padme knew she still had to be careful.​

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Ilija hoped Padme wouldn’t have been too upset with him, but he was still surprised at how understanding she was. How understanding she always was. He made a mental note to make up for it at some point. Even if in his own head their relationship was a little confusing, he still cared about Padme and knew it might brighten her day if she received something special. Ilija was no where near as busy as Vader, it wasn’t like he had a club to run himself at all, so he had no excuse especially if he wanted to put his efforts towards the second year. He smiled towards her when she asked what it would mean for them. Truth be told Ilija hadn’t quite gotten that far in his head as to define it, but from what he could tell, it was pretty simple. “I think we could go in a date. Or dates.” He began, thinking it through, “If we’re exclusive, and we don’t date anyone else, then that makes us a couple,” it sounded strange to say the words out loud. He’d never been part of a couple before but it did sound comforting to have someone always around to be able to hang out with. Almost like a best friend but one that he could hopefully come to be comfortable enough that he wouldn’t have to worry anymore about putting on a front with. “We can do that when you want to,” he added, hoping that Padme would take the lead. He didn’t want to go any faster than she wanted to. The fourth year glanced up towards the Great Hall, wondering whether it would be a good opportunity even if it was a terrifying one. “Would you like to attend the dance with me? Not as my friend, but as my date?” He asked quietly, trying to keep the nerves out of his voice.